'We Used Dharamji's Poem In Ikkis'

'When he was not shooting, he was telling us stories and anecdotes. And reciting poems.'

IMAGE: Dharmendra on the Ikkis poster. Photograph: Kind courtesy Maddock Films/Instagram

Dharmendra worked in Sriram Raghavan's Ikkis in his final days before he passed into the ages on November 24.

Ikkis is inspired by the courage and life of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, India's youngest Param Vir Chakra recipient.

"Dharamji still had the same energy and enthusiasm as (when they worked on) Johnny Gaddar," Sriram Raghavan tells Subhash K Jha.

Sriram, yours is the last film that Dharmendra worked on.

I worked with him earlier in Johnny Gaddar. He regarded it as one of his favourite films in recent times. We had fun times shooting that. And now Ikkis.

How different was he?

He was still the same affectionate Dharamji.

He was even more hungry because in Johnny Gaddar he was part of an ensemble cast and he had a terrific group of co-actors.

In Ikkis, he has a very substantial role.

When he heard the story, he was extremely excited, he connected very much with the story.

I approached Dharamji a few years ago actually; after that COVID happened.

IMAGE: Jaideep Alhawat and Dharmendra on the sets of Ikkis. Photograph: Kind courtesy Maddock Films/Instagram

You started Ikkis with Varun Dhawan in it.

Yes, because of the delay, Varun didn't fit in age-wise.

Arun Khetarpal was martyred at 21. Agastya (Nanda) is the perfect fit. His performance will surprise everybody.

Dharamji was there even during Varun Dhawan, right?

When this subject came up, I thought this would be a wonderful role for him.

I immediately called him. He used to keep telling me, 'Let's do something'.

He had a lot of unused energy. He wanted me to remake The Bridges of Madison County, but I'm not a remake person.

So when I got this chance, I offered him Ikkis.

Then because of the delays, he used to keep asking, 'Are you doing it? Are you still doing it with me?'

I promised him we'll start the film as soon as we can. And then we luckily began in October 2023.

IMAGE: Jaideep Alhawat and Dharmendra on the sets of Ikkis. Photograph: Kind courtesy Maddock Films/Instagram

Do you remember the first day of shooting with him?

The first schedule was around him. He was a little older, but he still had the same energy and enthusiasm as Johnny Gaddar.

He used to go over the scenes patiently with us, rehearse with all; there were a lot of new actors in the film.

And when he was not shooting, he was telling us stories and anecdotes. And reciting poems. In fact, we used one of his poems in our film.

To his fans, what do you say? Are they going to be happy?

I think so. I'm blessed to have worked with him twice.

I spent a considerable amount of time with him. Luckily, it's a substantial role. He's a wonderful actor and this will show his progress once again.

I am very happy with his role, but sad he couldn't see the entire film.

IMAGE: Director Sriram Raghvan, Dharmendra, Agastya Nanda and Producer Dinesh Vijan. Photograph: Kind courtesy Maddock Films/Instagram

It seems he was very attached to Agastya.

Agastya and Dharamji became very close. Dharamji looked after Agastya on the set like his own grandson.

Also, because Agastya is Mr Bachchan's grandson. So there was also that, I mean, a sense of bonding between the two families. Generations and so on.

Ikkis was memorable on many counts.

It was a wonderful experience.

We went to so many locations. It was not an easy shoot, you know.

We were shooting in Lucknow, then Punjab and Pune. He loved the studio.

I sent him the trailer, but before that, at the dubbing, I met him last in October.

Did Dharamji see the trailer?

I don't know whether he saw the trailer because I think by then he was very unwell. I showed him 60-70 percent of the film.

And?

He was very moved. I told him I would soon show him the entire film with the background music, etc. Who would have thought that he would leave us so suddenly?